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Please sign this petition for Our Lady’s pastor Fr. Walter Cuenin. The more I read about it, the more it makes me sad, and angry because it is just so unfair. There is now a group called Our Lady’s Friends, and they do a good job keeping media clippings, but simple google news query returns many results. There was a walk this Sunday (I was working but my wife and son attended) and Globe this week had this article: More than 1000 attend ex-pastors farewell service.

[Fr. Cuenin] also focused on his support of two issues that have made him a lightning rod in the archdiocese: gay rights and an increased role of women in the church. Those stances, many parishioners say, may have played into the decision of the archdiocese to ask for Cuenin’s resignation. ”We welcome all people — single or married, divorced or remarried, gay or straight,” he said to raucous applause.

It is so very obvious that the financial stuff — its just leased Honda Civic and $500 a month of stipend for crying out loud, its not like he was riding around Mercedes-Benz — is just an excuse for the archdiocese to get rid of Fr. Cuenin from his powerful post for his open mindedness. (And also to punish him for speaking out against Cardinal Law.) Didn’t Christ reach out and welcome everyone including tax collectors, the Samaritan woman and countless other unwanted and outcasts? But it would be really unfortunate if he doesn’t get full reinstatement from this bogus charge, he can never be pastor of any church again. He is a real leader and he deserves to be a guy who leads a community. it is just so unjust. Here is another good open letter to Archbishop O’Malley from a Protestant minister and Jewish Rabbi . I need to write to Archbishop as well. Here is the address:

Call me naive, but if each and all of us let archdiocese know how we feel just a little bit, maybe we can turn this injustice into something good, and cause some positive change in the church and faith that we share?

Update: Walter has written following in the September 24th bulletin (download PDF, 380kb) in Pastor’s Corner (page2). Now, tell me he was ousted because of “financial improprieties.”

One of the hallmarks of this parish is its hospitality. We try to welcome all people. As I often say at Christmas and Easter “We welcome divorced and remarried, single, never married, happily married. We welcome gay and straight and Catholics who are devout and Catholics who are barely holding on.” We have made a special effort to welcome gay and lesbian persons and their families. The parish is blessed to have many couples, some now legally married, as members of the community. They come on Sundays and are raising their children in the faith. Their marriage seems to have been a good experience for them. It doesn’t appear that anyone’s marriage has been threatened or compromised by the 1800 gay marriages that have already taken place in the past year. There are, however, those who are opposed to gay marriage including the Massachusetts Conference of Catholic Bishops. They are encouraging Catholics to sign a petition for an amendment that would define marriage as a union of a man and women. Some see this as a good way to protect marriage.
I am placing at the door of the church the forms the Archdiocese has sent for those who may want to sign and register their opposition to gay marriage. But we will not do any signing of petition in our church as we follow that rule for all issues. Catholics differ on those matters and we need to respect the rights of all. Wherever you as an individual may stand on this issue, we must do all the we can to work for the dignity of gay people and for the protection of their rights. They must always feel welcome in our community.

I guess this request for churches to get signatures for anit-gay-marriage was part of “Protect Marriage Sunday” which was October 2nd. I guess Rev. George Lange of St. Luke the Evangelist church in Westborough has been also replaced for the same reason. More story.

More Update (10/10): "http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/10/10/church_encircled_by_200_seeking_return_of_pastor/">Church encircled by 200 seeking return of pastor. I did meet new paster Fr. Coyne yesterday. He seems like a good guy. Under this situation, though it is hard to fully welcome him, sadly.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 5th, 2005 at 10/05/2005 @ 11:49 pm and is filed under Faith and Words to live by. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.